1John 2:9 - When love is hate...

"The [one] saying to being in the light and the brother of him hating in the darkness is until now."

-Sadly, there are those who say they are in the Light, but they are not.  They say that they know this God Who is Light, Who is Truth.  They say (or think) that they believe the truth which He has given to the world.  They believe in the Son Whom He has given to the world (or at least they believe things about Him).  They claim to be in the light, but in truth, they are in darkness.  They don’t know Him.  They don’t really believe.  And how do we know this?  How can we tell they’re not really in the Light?  They hate their brother.

-"How did I hate my brother?", they will ask as they protest their innocence in eternity, just before the Lord says, "Depart from Me, I never knew you".  How is it that I can hate my brother?  Yes, there are all the expected negative feelings and actions, the intense dislike or aversion or predjudice, the desire for revenge, etc.  But hate can manifest in more subtle ways.  I can hate my brother simply by not loving him.  I don’t (demonstrate) care for him, I don’t take time or an interest in the things which concern him, I don’t listen to him, I don’t build him up.  There is a love which makes all other loves look like hate, and I can hate my brother merely by loving first the threefold-self, by living into me-first me-better, putting my needs and my wants and my self before and above his needs.  Greater love has no man than this, that he lays down his life for his brother (John 15.13).  John will get to this in the coming verses, but for now, we see some who profess to be Christians who in fact do NOT lay down their lives at all.  They are mostly into themselves, looking out for number one.  And by this we know that they are still walking in darkness, their mind is darkened to the truth, the shades are pulled and drawn by their steadfast devotion to themselves.  First they need to lay down their life - their wants as well as their sins - at the foot of the Cross, and let the Lord of Light bathe them in His restoring healing life-giving love and grace and forgiveness.  They need to come to that place where they put Jesus first.  First things first...